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39th game back on the agenda

The Premier League meest face-to-face again at the Landmark Hotel in London’s Marylebone last week, and the continuing growth of the competition was a particular area of focus.

The US, China, India, Brazil and Indonesia have been identified as markets in which the Premier League could appeal to new fans and an enhanced pre-season tournament next summer in the States has been discussed as an initial step.

Longer term, however, one of the key aspects in the League’s attempts to gain greater global appeal is playing competitive matches on foreign soil. A possible “roadmap for meaningful matches abroad” was mentioned last week, after “taking Premier League matches to the world” was discussed at June’s AGM.

It would take several years for a top-flight match outside of England to come to fruition but it is interesting that the idea could be on the table following the collapse of the European Super League, more than a decade after former Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore first floated the idea of the “39th game”.

In 2008, the Premier League looked at playing an extra round of matches abroad at five different venues, with clubs set to earn around £5 million per game.

UEFA, FIFA and the FA all opposed the idea and it was scrapped but Scudamore remained supportive, saying in August 2014: “It will happen at some point.”   In the meantime, some kind of special pre-season competition seems more likely.

If it did it would be a further step in the globalisation of football as argued in my recent book Political Football.

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